Method of forming printing surfaces



. WOOD METHOD 0F FORIVIING PRINTING SURFACES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG,I

Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/NVEA/To 5 Wo o .P Ano/MIEI Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

UNITED STATES rERcIvAL J. woon, or PATERsomNEW JEnsEY.

METHOD 0F `FOlR1\[Il'.\TG PRINTING SURFACES..

Application led August 6, 1921. Serial No. 490,225.

To all wlw/m. it may concern.

Be it known that I, PERoivAL J. Woon, a citizen of the United States,residing at Paterson, in the county of Passaic and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of FormingPrinting Surfaces, of which the following is a specification.

In certain kinds of printing with rollers or plates it is desired toobtain graded-tone effects; for' instance, the printing of fabrics fordress goods and the like is frequently done in clouded or mottledeffects, splotches or stripes, usually with set figures (withouttone-grading) also brought out.- Heretofore it has been the custom toproduce graded-tone effects on the surface t o be treated by forming thenumerous minute recesses or incisions (generally of the stipple kind)one by one by hand, of course properly varying them as to size so as toobtain the graded-tone effect. In the printing of fabrics, as in manyother kinds of printing, it is usual to proceed by the etching process;but the present invention broadly contemplates, in the art of printing,the production ofrecesses or incisions in either a varnish or other merecoating surface or in the surface forming the actual printing surface,the only prerequisite being that the surface to be treated, whichever itis, shall be sufficiently soft to yield to the incising or engravingmedia. The object of the invention is to eliminate the tedium and lossof time and labor that are incident to the preparation of the printingsurface for producing in the printing these graded-tone effects. Theresult of the invention as shown by actual practice is to cut down thetime required to prepare the surface for the printing of the graded-toneeffect so that it is a matter of a few minutes instead of hours, asheretofore.l

The invention is vbroadly the method of producing graded incisions inthe surface to be treated which consists in forcing into said surfacethe acting faces of an assembly yof gravers while said assembly ismaintained' in convergent relationl to said surface; inthe best form ofthe invention and especially with the vobj ect and result of obtainingvariegated or diversified leffects the gravers are yielding. Themaintaining of the assembly of gravers in convergent relation tothesurface being treated may be a matter of supporting the same, connectedas ay unit, at a higher elevation than said surface; or it may be anincident of the relative forms of the, acting face of ythegravers-assembly and the surface to be treated so that they do notconform, as by the graversfassembly presenting a convex face. I shallhereinafter by' example describe yWays of carrying out my, method whichfall in both these classes, claiming herein specifically those whichfall within the first class and `reserving for a separate applicationsuch as fall within the second class.

In the drawings,

- Figures l to 8 illustrate the iirst class and Figures 9 to 1l thesecond.

Figure l shows in section a stencil or support used in carrying out theinvention according to one way;

Figure 2 shows a printed piece with graded effects;

Figure 3k illustrates aform of implement that may be employed;

Figure 4 shows a Varnished copper roller with the stencil thereon inposition for performing my method;

Figure 5 is a view, mainly in section, showing the said roller,.stenciland implement at the moment the implement acts to form incisions in thevarnish surface of the roller; y y

Figure 6 shows mainly in section a varnished .copper roller with'adevice including a stencil or support thereon vpreparatory to carrying'out the invention according to anotherway.

Figure 7 shows an implement that may be used with the device seen inFig. 6;

'Figure 8 shows'in section and on a magnifiedscale the parts shown inFig. 6 at the moment of formingvthe incisions; Figure 9 shows a tamponthat vmay be used in carrying1 out my invention according to stillanother way; Figure 10 shows in section and on a magnified scale thistampon and the surface to be treated at the moment of forming theincision; and

Figure 11 the effect'produced in the surface treated when an 'implementlike that shown vin Fig. 9 is employed. v

j Describing, first, ways for example which fall within the first class:

A stencilfor Support a is provided which is to expose an area of thesurface tobe treated having some selected form, as Vthe stripe .b or theoutline of a cloud, splotch or'some such irregular figure c, as in theCir printed piece shown in Fig. 2. There is also provided, Fig. 3, animplement whose working portion is composed of a set of yielding graversarranged like the bristles of a brush; in the illustration thisimplement is constituted by a piece of card clothing cl (such as is usedin carding wool, etc.) attached to one end of a preferably more or lessflexible handle e, each wire tooth or bristle al affording one of theassembly of gravers and being yielding, both because of vits ownflexibility and because of its being yieldably mounted in the materialCZ, as leather of fabric, which is not secured to the handle in such away as -to preventa certain amount of bulgingftherefrom-see Fig. 5.- Thestencil is laid on the surface A (shown as a varnish coating on a coppersurface g) to be treated as shown in Fig. 4, and then the gradedincisions are formed therein by striking the surface A through theopening in the stencil with the toothed or bristle or graver face of theimplement but in such a way that outward of the margin of the openingthe stencil will also be struck at the same time the said surface isstruck; in other words, so that at the moment of impact the stencil aswell as `the surface A supports the implement. Figure 5 iS a fragmentaryview showing the positions of the parts at the instant of striking, itbeing noted that the wire gravers when they encounter the harder coppersurface g after penetrating the material A either skid or bend, asshown, either of which effects results in the removal by each graver ofa fragment of said material of greater area than is represented by thethickness or gage of the graver. (It will b e apparent, too, that thedeeper any graver is forced into the surface, i. e., the greater theresistance it encounters, the more material will it displace.) Inward ofthe margin, as at the region f, the resulting incisions will be moreoverconsequently graded in size, (specifically, in the present example,area) as the result of the convergence here maintained as between the.surface A and the assembly of gravers by reason of the partial supportafforded the latter by the stencil at the moment of impact. By a stencilI do not confine myself to the ordinary device, viz, with an openingtherein.: It is a matter of some support (however constituted) beingpresent, higher than and adjoining the surface A. Nor is this way ofcarrying out my invention limited4 to the striking of blows: howthepressure is applied depends on the nature of the surface, the surface Ain the present eX-i ample being taken as the' usual kmoreor less hardvarnishy coating on a ycopper surface f/ which, after it has been formedwith the incisions and so exposes thereat vthe copper will have appliedto it theacid or mordant that acts to etch the exposed copper surface soas to make the latter a printing surface after removal of the coating.In view of what has been said the quality of the gravers to yield is avery important rfactor in forming the graded incisions when the workisto be done on surface material, as A, that is hard or backed by hardermaterial. This quality has a further important advantage in that itmakes possible the production of variegated or diversified effects asbetween areas of al surface treated by different applications of theimplement thereto.

If cloud effects of various contours are desired to be printed of coursestencils with divers irregular .forms of openings maybe used. Or I mayproceed as follows: Let 7L, Fig. 6, represent a stencil or other supportlaid on the surface A, ande' `a piece of fabric glued to the surface soythat close to the support it will be spaced from the surface A adistance equal to the thickness of such support, as by bridging thestencil opening h. The fabric will be of suitable coarseness so that thebends z" in its threads at one face will make more or less distinctimpressions or incisions in a yieldable surface if the fabricv ispressed against the latter; for the usual varnish surface A this wouldrequire the presence of a suitable solvent, as turpentine, to soften'thesurface, which may be applied to the fabric.

lf the fabric, with the parts related as in Fig.

6, be now struck or pressed with a tampon j (Fig. 7) having convex form,the desired result will follow as before: that is to say, said threadsof the fabric here form the gravers (incidentally yielding) and theassembly of gravers so constituted being maintained by the support 7L ina relation of convergence to the Surface A at the region 7c in Fig. 8 atthe moment of impact, i.e., of pressure, incisions graded insize will bevformed in said surface.

Describing, now, a way which falls within the second class, i. e., wherein the performance of my method the acting face vofthe Y assembly ofgravers and; the surface to-be treated do not conform:

A tampon or pad Z (Fig. 9) is vformed either of a wad ofindiscriminately massed fabric or of a wad of any other suitablepreferably yielding material covered with fabric. Beingspheroido-convex, whereas the surface (Fig. 10) is not so vbutcylindrical o flat 'inl the example illustrated, it does not conformto.; said surface, soV that, if laid against lit there would beconvergence between the latter and the surface of the tampon. Thefabric, as before. will be of suitable coarseness. so that its threadswill make more or lessdistinct-impressions orrineisions in a yieldingsurface if the tampon is pressed against said surface; if the surface isthe usual varnish surface it may be rendered soft by applying a solvent,as turpentine, to the tampon. IIpon now applying the tampon, by a blowor pressing, against the surface A the threads of the fabric, Which formthe assembly of gravers (incidentally yielding), will form impressionsor incisions therein, and since the assembly is maintained in a relationof convergence to said surface, due to its normal or convex form, theseincisions will be graded at the margin m of the area of contact of thetampon with said surface: See Fig. 11, which also shows not only themargin of said area with the graded incisions but regio-ns n of gradedincisions due to forming the tampon With a plurality of the convexities,as shown in Fig. 9.

Having thus fully described myy invention, What I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent l. In the art of printing, the methodof producing the hereindescribed gradedL incisions in the surface to betreated which consists in forcing into said surface the acting faces of`an assembly of gravers While maintaining said assembly in con- Ver-gentrelation to said surface.

2. In the art of printing,the method of producing the hereindescribedgraded incisions in the surface to be treated Which consists in forcinginto said surface the acting faces of an assembly of yielding graversWhile maintaining said assembly in convergent relation to said surface.

3. In the art of printing, the method of producing the hereindescribedgraded ink cisions in the surface to be treated Which consists inforcing the acting faces of an assembly of gravers connected as a unitagainst and into said surface as to one region of said assembly Whilesupporting the assembly as to another region thereof at an elevationhigher than said surface.

Lf. In the art of printing, the method of producing the hereindescribedgraded incisions in the surface t0 be treated Which consists in forcingthe acting faces of an aS- sembly of yielding gravers connected as aunit against and into said surface as to one region of said assemblyWhile supporting the assembly as to another region thereof at anelevation higher than said surface.

5. In the art of printing, the method of producing the hereindescribedgraded incisions in the surface to be treated Which consists in forcingthe acting faces of an assembly of gravers connected as a unit againstand into said surface and at the same time against a support adjoiningand arranged at an elevation higher than said surface.

6. In the art of printing, the method of producing the hereindescribedgraded incisions in the surface to be treated Which consists in forcingthe acting faces of an assembly of yielding gravers connected as a unitagainst and into said surface and at the same time against a supportadjoining and arranged at an elevation higher than said surface.

In testimony whereof I aihx my signature.

PERCIVAL J. WOOD.

